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Savana, Tingitana, Bedistan
Alfredo Ernandeso gathered his organization inside the abandoned bunker before dawn. The men carried guns, grenades, explosives, and an wide variety of other military equipment with them. Some wore insignia, most of which they had hacked from þ0.01, þ0.10, and þ0.50 coins. They anxiously awaited Ernandeso’s speech. It was spoken in Noterelenda, of course, but was translated to English by the camera of RP.
“Two score and six years ago—”
A person with some of the most elaborate insignia in the room interrupted him. “You mean forty-six? Not all of us went to Paruvia Tech, you know.”
“Yes, forty-six years ago, Olo Manuëlo had a dream, that—”
“Use your own slani words!”
“Will you just shut up‽ Okay, forty-six years ago, Olo Manuëlo had a dream, that all the people of Paripana could be united in peace under one flag, could live as equals without the destructive force of government dividing them. He called upon us, the people of Tingitana, to rise up against the so-called Unified Capitalizt States and liberate Lukeonia, Tarraconesis, and the rest of Paripana from government oppression. Though he did succeed in destroying the Manhattanite presence in Lukeonia, he ultimately failed in his mission and allowed all of Tingitana to fall under the evil Grand Dominion of Bedistan. We have tolerated this evil for far too long. We have silently built up our supplies, salvaged parts from the ancient Bætican military, even managing to convince the Manhattanites to sell us the planes we need. Now you must gather your soldiers, for today is the day that we end this plague that has spread through Paripana! We will take our army to the state capital, and we will overthrow this ‘grand’ dominion, we will destroy the Manhattanite states, we will give those subjected to the Reichsföderation a taste of freedom!”
Several hours later, a hundred thousand armed soldiers filled the streets of Savana, all converging on the Tingitanan capital building. As several groups arrived at the building, Ernandeso thrust his arm forward in the direction of a statue of Scott Henderson, and shouted, “ATAKAB!” |
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The state capitol, most of the other government buildings, and the communications infrastructure of Savana lay in ruins after only thirty minutes. The police forces and militias in the city were no match for the anarchist armies, and they suffered only a handful casualties. Ernandeso organized his forces into eight armies. Strates Onete, Tesete, and Tredete went west from Savana to attack the rest of Evestigatus, Strate Kuörete stayed behind in Tingitana to put down any pro-government forces remaining, and Strates Fibete, Sekete, Sepete, and Erqete went to Paleoparipia. Their progress was impressive—by the end of the day, they had secured one-third of Bedistani territory on Evestigatus and all of former Bætica. Simultaneous attacks on Calania had destroyed the central government at Columbia. The next morning, Strate Fibete attacked Kumbara and took out not only the acting government there, but also a number of private corporations. The other armies made similarly rapid gains. By the end of the third day, they had conquered all of Bedistan. The southern armies set up camp in Vader, watching the nearby Olympics on television and waiting for the invasion of the Unified Capitalizt States to begin, while the northern armies met in Nuto to plan their invasion of Lontorika.
—————
Nuto, Fargama, Bedistan
Ernandeso: “It seems clear to me that the Reichsföderation must be our first target. Their army will probably be quite agressive in defending the border, whereas the Manhattanites will just stand around and watch until we invade their precious Capitalizt States.”
The other generals acknowledged Ernandeso’s statement, but did not speak.
Ernandeso: “The information we stole from the Dominion says that the bulk of the Armee der Reichsföderation is stationed in the area surrounding Melbin and Metaka. If we head south during the night, we should be able to quickly take Vitoro, then split up and advance to the north, forcing the Reichsföderation to keep its army fragmented as they come to meet us. Strates Fibete and Sekete will take the western route, where they will stop in Georgetown to wait for the main Lontorikan force to engage them. Strates Sepete and Erqete get the eastern route. We will stop in Livinable, then quickly head west to try to outflank the army from Melbin. Once the enemy is defeated at Georgetown, the troops from Metrewalk will head back to the capital, and we head to Königstadt to stop them. After that, we will have nothing left but to mop up the pieces and meet in Melbin. Understood?”
Once again, no one spoke; they simply nodded.
After the officers had woken up their soldiers and assembled in the center of their base, Ernandeso yelled, “Gab tal Vitoro!” (Go to Vittorio!) |
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Though the invading forces suffered siginificant casualties, the Battle of Georgetown went as well as any of the anarchists could have hoped. They succeded in defeating the army from Metrewalk at Königstadt, though Strate Sekete was decimated in the fight and the survivors were integrated into the other three armies. On the fifth day of the attack, Alfredo Ernandeso’s armies had secured all of the Reichsföderation. One of the tanks assigned to Strate Erqete began rotating its turret toward the Lontorikan capitol, when Ernandeso came running towards it, yelling “Parab! Parab!” The soldiers in the tank complied, not firing on the building.
Ernandeso entered the deserted capitol and climbed the stairs to the rooftop. Once there, he raised the flag of Tingitana, without the gear symbol of Bedistan, over the building. After he was done, he gathered the three armies to begin marching towards Natestadt.
—————
Vader, Makarida, Bedistan
Ignásia Markuëiä, commander of Strate Tesete, and one of the best English speakers among the officers, sat in front of a television set to Aeropag Tribune News—BSTV was, thanks to the Calanian armies, no longer available. The feed happened to be covering the invasion of Lontorika at the time. Among other things, a video was shown of Ernandeso raising the flag over the capitol at Melbin, apparently recorded by an amateur with a cell phone camera.
Edgaro Matesano—commander of Strate Onete—happened to be looking at the television at the time, and turned to Markuëiä. “Is that his signal?”
“It had better be.”
The officers left the hôtel they had appropriated, and went to the old Lontorican military base that the ordinary soldiers were staying in. Matesano grabbed a megaphone he had taken from one of the government buildings in Kikiö—he couldn’t yell as loud as Ernandeso—and yelled, “Tal Kuërzaki! Atakab!” |
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Querzakhi, Tarraconesis, Unified Capitalizt States
General Gürdal Bozbala, commander-in-chief of the Capitalizt Defense Alliance, watched from the roof of a building in the Querzakhi Olympic Village as the anarchists came over the border. The CDA forces were all hidden in buildings near the eastern edge of the city, waiting for the attack to begin. He heard gunshots, and saw some glass on a nearby office building shatter. He pressed a button on his radio, signalling the troops to enter the battle. The general could see the enemy fighters approaching in the distance, just as two squadrons of the CDA’s most advanced interceptors approached from an airbase to the south. Although the anarchists did make good soldiers, the well-trained Capitalizts made much better pilots, and easily downed the enemy planes before they could join the fight on the ground. Though it took some time, the CDA was eventually able to use their advanced weapons to gain the upper hand against the mob. By sunset, the anarchist armies were entirely defeated, and they received reports that the forces defending Natestadt against the attack from the northern armies were similarly successful.
—————
Aeropag, Jativa, Unified Capitalizt States
The CDA leadership met at their headquarters in Aeropag to report on the battles that had taken place in Querzakhi and Natestadt. Gen. Bozbala quickly reminded everyone that “one of their armies is still alive and well in Tingitana, and I’ll give fifty-to-one odds on them staying there.”
Chris Caldwell, Bozbala’s second-in-command, replied, “They’re not attacking us, and they’d be even more stupid than we think if they try. Why should we care?”
“원강지 (ʼWon Gaŋ-ji) asked the same thing when Lukeonia fell, and look where that got us! These Tingitanans have caused so much damage in eastern Paripana that we must do something about it while we can. We will take our forces to East Bedistan, secure their territory against any uprisings, and hold an election for the peoples of Bedistan to choose their representatives in negotiating a permanent solution to the situation.” |
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International City of Paripana
The CDA held the election one week after it moved into East Bedistan—two weeks after Alfredo Ernandeso had started his attack—and counted the results quickly. The group of twelve elected representatives (two from Lontorika, one from each former Bedistani state, and one from the abandoned Implosionite territory) were escorted to the International City to discuss their options with Neil Miller, CEO of the UCS, and General Bozbala.
Miller: “Welcome. I’d like to start this meeting with the proposal that the former Bedistani and Lontorikan territories in Paripana accede to the Unified Capitalizt States.”
Given that Tingitanan anarchists had taken over the entire Grand Dominion not once, but twice, and that the Capitalizt Defense Alliance had been able to defeat them, the Bedistani politicians did not immediately object.
Cody Moore (representative of Sutelara): “So that means that us politicians wouldn’t have much to do?”
Miller: “Yes, but I think you’ll find Capitalizts to be quite chartiable. Anyway, seriously, what conditions must be met for any of you to turn over the territories to the UCS?”
안훼비 (ʼAn Hwe-bi) (representative of Aïstsokoqiuä): “If Sokojiwa is to be admitted to the UCS, it must be all of Sokojiwa, not just the former Bedistani state.”
Miller [turned towards the Implosionite representative]: “Is that fine with you?”
Patrick Johnson: “Yes; the few remaining people in our territory wish it to become Bætica once again, and for Cordubovica to be reëstablished as its capital. We have no desire to rule Sokojiwa.”
Miller: “Good. Anyone else?”
The two Lontorikan representatives talked quietly to each other, then one spoke up.
Wilmar Ploten: “The former Reichsföderation territories must be united with the current state of Lontorika if they are to enter the UCS.”
Miller: “I doubt the state government would object to that. After all, they still technically claim Königeland.”
Θάνος Μητρόπουλος (Thános Mītrópoylos) (representative of Notelara): “Similarly, the state of Notelara must be integrated into Ακήλα (Akḗla) if we are to join.”
Miller: “Also not a problem. And Mr West, I assume you want the western part of Makarida integrated into Tarraconesis?”
Dustin West nodded affirmatively.
Miller: “Okay then. I propose the addition of seven states to the UCS—Bedistan, including the former states of Sutelara, Fargama, and eastern Makarida; Sokojiwa, including the former state of Aïstsokoqiuä and the Sokojiwan territories in Karakós and Imminent Implosion; Silverbrook, including the former state of Arjenibrúk; Karacos, including the former state of Karakós with the aforementioned exception; Bætica, including the former Imminent Implosion with the aformenetioned exception; Tingitana, conterminus with the eponymous former state, and Replucans, including the former state of Réplukanz.”
Cody Moore: “So that will make a total of fifteen states?”
Miller: “Yes.”
Moore: “And three of these states are Manhattanite, and only one is Bedistani?”
Miller: “Is that a problem?”
Moore: “The state of Sutelara will not accede to the Unified Capitalizt States as long as multiple states in the union are from any single culture—that is, as long as the states of New Manhattan, New Anaphase, and Chorion exist separately.”
Miller: “I don’t see why that’s such a big deal, but I’ll speak to the relevant authorites about arranging a merger.”
Gary Ramos (representative of Fargama): “I’m also not sure what Mr Moore’s problem is, but mine is that the Unified Capitalizt States has located its capital at Altera, far from the Bedistani territories.”
Miller: “The Jativans could make the same complaint if the capital were at Kumbara.”
Ramos: “Perhaps so, but the issue is not so much the geographic location as the cultural location. Altera is a clear example of a city built by Manhattanites for Manhattanites.”
Miller: “Since both the Grand Dominion and the Reichsföderation no longer exist, the International Territory is now solely controlled by the UCS. Would moving the capital here please everyone?”
There was no objection.
Miller: “Okay, then. We’ll take a short recess while I consult with the leaders of the existing states.” |
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The next day, Neil Miller and the other UCS officials worked out a treaty that would establish the new states as he had suggested, move the capital of the UCS to the International City, and merge the states of New Manhattan, Chorion, and New Anaphase. He then handed copies of the document to the representatives.
Cody Moore: “It says here, ‘The flag of the Unified Capitalizt States shall be vert, a cannon encircled by thirteen mullets Or.’ Is there a motto, a coat of arms, an anthem, a national flowerpot design, or any other symbol?”
Neil Miller: “No, why?”
Moore: “Well, it just seems like the sort of thing a nation ought to have. For a motto, why not e pluribus unum?”
안훼비 (ʼAn Hwe-bi): “What does that mean?”
Miller: “It means ‘out of many, one.’ And it’s entirely inappropriate, since it emphasizes the origin of certain states and makes us sound like some sort of empire. But if you really do want a motto, wouldn’t in varietate concordia work?”
안: “Hey, you said the representatives had to speak English, not Latin.”
Moore: “I suppose that’s fine. And you shouldn’t really be too worried about not understanding the motto; no one’s going to care what it is. We come up with a coat of arms later, for now, let’s just sign the slani thing.”
Dustin West: “I’m too lazy to read through this, but does this say anything about Penguinata, Lukeonia or Syringia?”
Miller: “Indeed it does. They are established as part of the Unified Capitalizt States, but are not part of any state, and may be ceded to some other government if anyone actually decides to live there. Well, if no one has any other questions, let’s get on with it.”
Miller added a sentence establishing the motto of the UCS, printed out a new copy, and passed it around the table for the representatives to sign.
—————
Through the magic of Capitalizt technology, all of the essential government property was moved from Altera to the International City instantaneously. The government had purchased a building in the city to act as the new capitol, and while decorating the building itself could wait a few weeks, workers landscaped the lawn in front of the building overnight and installed the needed equipment in preparation for the ceremony.
Early that morning, the leaders of the thirteen states stood in front of the capitol with the flags of their states. As The Star-Spangled Banner played, they raised the flags on thirteen flagpoles arranged in a circle. CEO Miller then raised the new flag of the Unified Capitalizt States which, for the first time, flew above the flag of the International City. The American Civil War–era cannon owned by Matthew Yates, who started the Capitalizt Revolution one hundred and forty-seven years ago, was teleported there. Lights that had been installed in the ground were illuminated to form thirteen yellow stars. Alfredo Ernandeso got his wish—the entirety of Paripana had been united in peace under one flag—just not in the form he had hoped. |
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